


Riding the Dragon

by TsarinaTorment



Series: International Rescue & Relief [7]
Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Family, Fluff, Gen, John is an evil mastermind and no-one knows this better than Scott, Roller Coasters, Sorry no Alan he wasn't born yet, Unintended multichap whoops, chapter 2 has been added and now features Alan!, irrelief, it's always the quiet ones, theme park, wee tracys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:22:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23535235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TsarinaTorment/pseuds/TsarinaTorment
Summary: Part 1: Scott was excited, and John was not, but who really got the last laugh?----Part 2: Ten years later they're back, and this time Alan's up for the challenge. John isn't about to let Scott forget about their last adventure, though.
Relationships: Scott Tracy & John Tracy
Series: International Rescue & Relief [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1671880
Comments: 1
Kudos: 32





	1. Riding the Dragon

**Author's Note:**

  * For [louthestarspeaker](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=louthestarspeaker).



> A fanfiction written for #irrelief, using louthestarspeaker's prompt "Scott taking a little brother on their first rollar coaster ride. (They can love it, hate it, or anything in between)"

"Really, Scott?"

Slender fingers slipped out from between his, and Scott stumbled to a halt, turning around to see his younger brother standing in the middle of the path with his arms crossed.

"Come _on_ , John!" he urged, backtracking and trying to grab the ginger boy's arm to urge him forwards. John sidestepped neatly and Scott inwardly rolled his eyes. Why was the younger boy's clumsiness always conveniently absent at times like this? "It'll be fun!"

"You just want to go with me so you don't have to go with Dad like a little kid," John accused. Scott winced.

"No-" he protested weakly. John turned around and started walking the other way, forcing Scott to lurch forwards to keep sight of him amongst the crowds. Losing his brother would be a very good way to get himself stuck back under parental supervision. "Okay, a little!" he admitted, latching onto a pale, freckled arm. John shot him a dark look over his shoulder. "But I also _want_ to go with you! I promise!"

John mulled it over for several moments, Scott conscious of the stares they were attracting and that more that one adult was starting to wonder about the location of their parents. Dad was busy pacifying a loud Gordon, and Mom was in the little kids' section with Virgil, but they'd agreed not to be long – at least, _Scott_ had agreed not to be too long. John hadn't said anything, implying that he'd rather sit on a bench somewhere with his book than brave the crowds.

"Please, John," he begged. "Just once?"

After a herculean sigh showing exactly what the younger thought of it, John turned around to face him, pinning him in place with bright turquoise eyes.

"Fine," he said, pulling his arm back but begrudgingly slipping his hand into Scott's again. "But I get to choose."

Scott deflated a little, looking forlornly at his preferred destination and knowing full well that John wouldn't choose it. But if he didn't go along with what John wanted, they'd run out of time and Mom and Dad would come looking for them before they'd done anything at all! Letting John choose at least guaranteed _something_ , he supposed.

"Okay." He tried to grin as though he was fine with it, but at nine years old the poker face was still an unknown skill to him. John gave him a searching look. "Which one?"

"How about _that_ one?" A pale finger pointed to the biggest of them all. Scott blinked, expecting something small and tame from the brother who clearly didn't want to be there. Maybe the space themed one, considering John's emerging obsession with anything beyond the atmosphere. Not the… _dragon_ themed one?

Still, he'd agreed, and it did look kinda cool, even if it wasn't the plane-themed one he'd had his eye on.

"The queue's going to be crazy," he muttered. "We'd better get going or we'll run out of time."

He shared a look with John, and found a grin creeping over his face to match the one on his younger brother's. Turquoise eyes glinted in a challenge, and they ran.

Hand-in-hand, they dodged past families and signboards to find themselves at the end of what, as Scott had predicted, was a very long queue for the ride. By the barriers a holographic dragon roared silently, speech bubbles declaring that they had to be at least four feet tall to ride without an adult. John cleared the tail dictating the permissible by less than an inch – Scott cleared by more than that, but he was older so of course he did – and they triumphantly joined the queue.

Overhead, the dragon-shaped carriage looped over and over, somewhat dizzying to watch even for Scott, who had never had any issues with motion sickness in his life. Still, this ride was something else, and the thought crossed his mind that maybe John wouldn't be able to hack it, that he'd chosen it to try and convince Scott to stop dragging him onto roller coaster rides. But no, a glance back at John showed him watching the ride in what almost seemed like boredom. He was entirely unconcerned about being thrown around in gravity-defying motions that seemed to be a visual representation of Dad's stories about launching into space.

"I can pick another ride if you want," John said abruptly, and Scott scowled when he realised he'd been caught staring. "Is this one too big for you?"

So it was a challenge.

Scott didn't back down from _challenges_.

"Not at all," he declared, stuffing any previous uncertainty into a small box in the back of his brain and slamming the lid down on it firmly. "I was just thinking maybe it would be too big for _you_."

John didn't rise to the bait. He never did, which made him the most boring brother in the world, sometimes. Virgil at least reacted sometimes, and Gordon was fast learning when he was being teased, and getting creative about retaliation.

"We'll be on the next ride," he said instead, and sure enough they were almost to the boarding platform. "Front or back?" As though he didn't know Scott _always_ rode at the front of a ride. What was the point of speed if the full effects were blocked by too-tall heads in front of you?

"Front," he said, just to assert that the bigger ride and the lack of their Dad riding with him wouldn't change his habits. John nodded, solemnly, and then the carriage was pulling into the platform, shaken passengers disembarking before the attendant finally let them on board.

Their heights were checked, _again_ , as though they thought they'd somehow cheated the guardian dragon at the other end of the queue, and with some hesitation over the fact that John only just qualified, they were boarding in the front-most carriage, right behind the dragon's head.

"Don't forget to smile for the camera," he reminded John as the restraints clunked down and locked into place. John rested his hands gently on his own.

"Don't you forget, either," he replied with another challenging grin, and then they were off.

Scott loved speed. He thrived on it, often complaining that Dad was driving too slowly ("it's the law, Scott!") and with many cycling accidents to prove that sometimes he couldn't quite react at the speeds he peddled. He'd heard Mom mutter the words 'thrill junkie' to Dad once or twice, and while he wasn't quite sure what a _junkie_ was, he knew that speed gave him a thrill.

This was, without a doubt, the fastest he'd ever gone. The wind lashed at his face, stifling any attempts at screaming and whipping tears from his eye. Fingers just barely brushed his, but he couldn't imagine how John was managing to move them at all; his own were frozen solid to the harness as they entered the first loop.

As with all roller coasters, the ride was over all too quickly, adrenaline coursing through Scott's veins but his memory a blur of light and colour, with a bright flash somewhere in there when the camera had ambushed them at the end of a series of light loops.

"That was fun," John said as they came to a stop, harnesses receding after a moment. Scott nodded, his voice somewhere behind them on the track still and clambered out of the carriage rather clumsily. John caught his arm as he staggered, and between them they managed to get over to a nearby bench and collapse down onto it. At least, Scott collapsed onto it, legs still like jelly as the adrenaline continued to whirr through his body. John didn't seem the least bit affected as he sat down normally, windswept hair the only indication that he'd just been on a monster ride.

Privately, Scott thought that was a little unfair. It was even _more_ unfair that John's natural clumsiness seemed to have vanished, too.

Then again, if a roller coaster was a cure for clumsiness, then maybe they should do that more often. Well, once he had his own legs back in functioning order.

"That was _awesome_ ," he finally agreed as his voice returned, slinging an arm over John's shoulders. "So, you liked it? Does that mean you'll come on more with me?"

John chuckled, and Scott was blessed with a rare arm slinging over his own shoulders in return and pulling him into a half-hug.

"If you can keep up," he said. Scott scowled at him for a moment, the implication that John was somehow _better_ at surviving roller coasters than he was hanging in the air between them, before they locked eyes and started to laugh.

And that was how their parents found them several minutes later, clinging to each other and laughing uncontrollably.

"I take it they had fun," Jeff muttered to his wife, hefting Gordon higher on his hip as the infant tried to make a break for freedom. She smiled back at him, holding Virgil's hand tightly as he stared at his older brothers in astonishment.

"I believe they did."


	2. Return of the Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ten years later they're back, and this time Alan's up for the challenge. John isn't about to let Scott forget about their last adventure, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was supposed to be a oneshot, but this idea wouldn't leave me alone, so now it's a twoshot. Probably.

Alan stared at the sight in front of him with wide eyes. He'd never been to a theme park before, unlike many of his friends, who had regaled him with story after story of the rides that went _whoop_ and _whoosh_ and _aaaah_. Dad had been too busy to take him, what with the secret project he was working on – "you'll know about it when it's ready" – but they were about ready to move house to an island in the middle of nowhere and Grandma had insisted they have some fun before they went.

So here he was, with his brothers and Dad, wondering which ride he should go on first. Behind him, Gordon was making excited noises about a log ride, while Scott was making snipes about small children and the baby park to the bouncing swimmer. Alan sincerely hoped _he_ wasn't going to be relegated to the small rides. He was tall enough for the big rides, after all – he'd checked, before they came.

He surveyed the sight ahead of him again, ignoring Virgil's grip on Gordon's arm as his fellow blond tried to make a dash for the desired log ride. John muttered something about the sun and how he'd dry off faster if he went in later. Alan half listened – wanting to go on the log ride at some point during the day because his friends said it was fun, and Gordon would definitely be the best one to go with – but really, he was looking for It. The One.

He'd never been on a roller coaster before. He wanted to find the perfect one to start his record with, the best ride in the park, the-

There it was.

It was red, it was fast and it looped round and around on an intricate track that looked nothing short of awesome.

"I want to go on that one," he declared, pointing at the dragon as its head reached the highest point of the track before plummeting down.

"We can work up to that one," Dad said. "Let's start with a smaller one, okay?"

"No!" Alan protested, pulling away from his attempts to grab his hand – he was _not_ a baby! – and crossing his arms. "That one first."

"Remind you of anyone?" he heard Scott mutter to someone else. John's bark of laughter caught him by surprise and he turned to look at his normally quiet brother, who was matching Scott's amused look with what looked to Alan like one of his 'I know better than you' looks.

"What's so funny?" Gordon demanded, free of Virgil's grip like the slippery eel he was but, like Alan, distracted from his destination by their eldest brothers' private amusement.

"I see no reason why Alan can't go on that one." John didn't answer them directly, but he did come over to Alan and take his hand.

"John-"

"Scott will accompany him, won't you, Scott?" Their Dad's protest was ignored as turquoise eyes challenged blue. Even Alan knew there was _something_ they weren't sharing with the rest of them, although if it got him on the red rollercoaster, Alan was perfectly content to not know right then. "After all, you went on it with me as _my_ first rollercoaster."

Dad groaned, and Alan knew he'd won. There was no _way_ anyone was going to get him on any other ride until he'd been on that one. Not now he knew it had been _John_ 's first one, of all his brothers.

"Please, Scott?" he asked, reaching for his biggest brother with the hand not held in John's grip, and Scott grinned down at him, catching his hand and holding it firmly.

"Of course I will," he said. "I was meaning to go on that one today anyway." John made another noise of amusement, and then he was squatting down to be at Alan's height.

"Watch out," he said in a too-loud whisper. "You might need to carry Scott off. I did."

He stumbled back awkwardly to dodge a swipe from Scott.

"There was no _carrying_ of _anyone_ ," Scott said. "Don't tell our brothers lies."

"So you claim you were perfectly capable of walking on your own two feet when you got off?" John asked innocently as he got back to his feet.

"I did it, didn't I?" Scott retorted, ignoring Gordon and Virgil's demands for the full story. Dad, Alan noticed, had his head buried in his hands.

"Not the way I remember it," John commented, as though he was discussing the weather with Gordon again, and not accusing their biggest brother of being a weakling when it came to the big rides.

"You remember wrong," Scott scoffed, before starting forwards, pulling on Alan's hand. Alan followed obediently, in turn tugging John along, who still had hold of his other hand. "Come on, Alan, let's go join the queue. It's a popular ride, so it'll take a while to get on it."

"I'm coming, too!" Gordon chirped, leaping onto Scott's back like a monkey. Or an octopus. Scott didn't let go of Alan's hand, leaving Gordon to hold on all by himself.

"I thought you wanted the log flume," Virgil commented, jogging to catch up. "What was that about water rides being the best rides?"

"They are!" Gordon insisted. "But I want to see Alan carry Scott off the dragon ride."

"There will be _no carrying_ ," Scott insisted, shooting John a dark look over the top of Alan's head. For his part, Alan was looking up at his much older brother, much taller than him with clothes that didn't fully disguise the fact that he had muscles Alan's friends drooled over when they saw him.

"I think I'd have to drag you," he piped up, and grinned back innocently at the look of betrayal he got.

"Watch it or you're not coming," Scott warned. Alan shut up. Scott was _probably_ joking, but he didn't want to risk it. Not when the dragon ride was looking cooler and cooler the closer they got.

"Are you all going on that?" Dad asked them, sounding a little resigned.

"You should come, too, Dad!" Gordon encouraged. "Then you can help Alan carry Scott!" Dad chuckled as Scott shrugged his shoulders sharply, trying and failing to dislodge his brother.

"Someone has to look after the bags," he said. "You boys have fun."

"Oh, we will," Scott promised, sending a glare at Gordon as he stage-whispered _"carried off"_. "And who is carrying who right now, you little squid?" Gordon just laughed.

A holographic dragon greeted them at the end of the queue, and Alan pulled away from both of his brothers to run at it and prove he was (just) tall enough to ride. Scott wrestled Gordon from off of his back with no small amount of assistance from Virgil, who was eyeing the ride with some trepidation even as he gamely followed Scott and Gordon into the queue.

John slipped away to join Dad, surprising Alan, who looked at his brother with a sense of betrayal.

"Too big for you after all?" Scott called, a smug grin on his face. John just shrugged, picking up some of the bags.

"I can think of better things to do than go back on that," he said, calmly. "Like taking the photos of your terrified face."

"Who's terrified?" Scott retorted. "I'm not the one running away."

Alan always admired John for never letting Scott bait him. A ginger eyebrow raised, and a phone made itself known.

"I have the photos from ten years ago downloaded," he said. "I think that has all the evidence I need."

" _Photos_?" Gordon screeched, clambering back onto Scott's back and making grabby-hand motions at the device in John's hand, the other side of the barrier. "Show! Show!"

"Gordon!" Alan scrambled out of the way as Scott stumbled under the new assault and Virgil hurriedly grabbed both brothers to stop them toppling over. "Be _careful_ , Gordon!" Virgil grumbled, once again peeling him from Scott's back.

"Do that again and you can go sit this one out with Dad," Scott threatened, and Gordon pouted for a moment before his face lit up.

"I won't show you _any_ photos until you get off that ride," John interjected, and his face fell again. "You want dirt on Scott, you earn it."

Suspiciously, Scott didn't deny the existence of any dirt, and Alan peered up at him suspiciously.

"Is it true, Scott?" he asked, glancing at the big, fast ride ahead of them again. "Is it scary?"

To his relief, Scott laughed.

"Nah, it's not scary at all," he promised. "Ride cameras are designed to get you looking your worst, that's what John's going on about. Besides." His voice raised slightly and Alan saw him looking at John out of the corner of his eye. "If I remember correctly, I wasn't the one clinging to my brother's hand for dear life."

Like he was watching a tennis match, Gordon's head whipped around to John, who shrugged, seemingly unconcerned at the accusation.

"At least my hands weren't frozen to the harness," he commented. "Well, I'll see you lot the other side. Scott, try to walk unaided this time." He waved and jogged over to where Dad had found a bench with a good view of the ride, before sitting down and beginning to do something with his tablet.

"'Walk unaided'?" Virgil asked, and Scott huffed.

"Not you, too, Virgil. You should remember."

"I remember you and John laughing like madmen but not much else," Virgil shrugged. "Who knows what happened before then."

"Wait, _you_ were there?" Gordon demanded, switching targets to their other brother. Alan looked at him with wide eyes, wondering if he could hear more of the story.

"So were you," Scott retorted before Virgil could say anything. "But even if you weren't still in diapers at the time, I wouldn't trust you to remember it properly." Gordon made a face.

"Well I'll be sure to remember _this_ one properly!" he declared. "And there will be photos! John said!"

"Don't trust John, either," Scott grumbled. "He's telling you lies and slander and you're all happily believing him because you're a bunch of traitorous kids."

"John wouldn't lie!" Alan defended his absent brother. John said weird things sometimes, but he didn't _lie_!

Scott raised an eyebrow at him, but shook his head with a sigh.

"You'll learn," he muttered.

"I'm not a kid," Virgil protested before Alan could find a reply to that.

"You're believing John over me, so you're a kid," Scott retorted.

Virgil huffed, and pressed a hand down on Gordon's head when he tried to jump up at him, laughing.

"Hey, Scott?" Alan asked, before his brothers could start upsetting him further. "What's the ride like?"

Scott just smiled down at him.

"Wait and see, little bro. Wait and see."

He refused to say any more, even when Gordon and even Virgil joined in pestering for information, saying that he didn't want to ruin it for them. At one point, Gordon began hollering in the direction of John, but got no reaction at all. Either he was out of earshot, or just ignoring them.

The ride operator looked at him funny as they finally reached the head of the queue, pulling out another height measure which he suffered through with bad grace (until Scott told him the same thing had happened to John). Then he was on the ride, dragging Scott right to the front before Gordon and Virgil could claim it.

Gordon stuck his tongue out at him, and promptly headed for the very back, with Virgil in reluctant tow.

"Ready?" Scott asked as the harnesses slid down over them and locked in place. Alan looked at the track in front of him and gulped. "Too late to back out now."

"If John could do it, I can do it!" he declared, although he snuck a hand over to Scott's harness. Scott gently placed it back on his own, but didn't let go.

"I know you can do it," he said. There was a _clunk_ , and then they were off.

Heights was not a problem for Alan. Nor was speed, or a combination of the two. The steady _chunk-chunk-chunk-chunk_ of the carriage climbing out of the platform towards the first crest of many seemed to match his heart-rate, but as soon as he saw the view opening out before him his jaw fell open.

And then they dropped.

Behind them, someone shrieked. It sounded suspiciously like Gordon, but Alan didn't really care to think about his brothers right now, because This Was AWESOME!

Scott's hand on his was tight, almost painfully so, but did nothing to stop him _whooping_ and _aaaahing_ as it went _woosh_ and _woosh_ again. Beside him, Scott was laughing along, and at one point dragged his hand off of the harness to hold it up just before something went _flash_.

Looping and looping and looping again was amazing, and Alan found himself disappointed when the carriage slowed to a stop upon return to the station.

"Again?" he asked hopefully, but Scott shook his head.

"Not without going in that queue again," he said, pulling him out once the harnesses released. "Sorry, kid. I guess you liked it?"

Alan nodded vigorously.

"You're walking just fine!" Gordon's voice accused loudly. Scott sighed.

"I _told_ you John was lying," he said, turning around to face their brothers. To Alan's surprise, both of them looked rather green. Gordon's smile was wobbly at best, and he was staggering all over the place, while Virgil had a hand firmly clamped over his mouth and was glaring daggers at the world in general.

Alan hid behind Scott.

"You've had ten years to practice since then," John said smoothly, holding up his phone. "I still have proof."

"Show!" Gordon insisted, as Virgil groaned and mumbled something behind his hand. Alan didn't think it was anything particularly pleasant.

"Once you're not green at the gills," John said, pocketing the device again, to moaned complaints. "So, Alan, how was it?"

"It was awesome!" he gushed, bouncing up and down on the spot. "So cool! It went _woosh_ so much!"

"Urgh," Virgil managed, and Alan saw Dad hand him a bottle of water. "Human stomachs are not designed for that sort of treatment."

Alan poked at his own. It seemed perfectly fine to him, and he said so. Virgil groaned at him again, and even Gordon grumbled something as Dad gathered them all up to go to the photo booth and see the pictures.

Behind him, Scott was walking with John.

"Just like you, I swear," the eldest muttered. "You'd think he'd just taken a walk in the park, not tackled the biggest ride in the State."

Alan didn't hear what John said back, but he did hear the _fwop_ of Scott whacking his arm, before they started laughing like mad.

Virgil muttered something else that didn't sound friendly, and Gordon whined that he wanted to see the photos John had promised.

Dad just shook his head, and Alan heard him say "some things never change, Lucy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Note:**

> IRRelief is an amazing idea and bless Gumnut for coming up with it! For those that don't know, it's a collection of prompts anyone can add to and use on tumblr, with a focus on fluff, to give us something to do while we're stuck indoors. [Full details are here](https://nutty.gumnut.net/irrelief/)


End file.
